How Ubisoft Delivered A Surprisingly Strong E3 Showcase

Like myself, I imagine many gamers around the world weren’t too overly-excited going into Ubisoft’s E3 press conference. With a spate of announced projects already in hand, it seemed as though the publisher would be playing it safe this year, spending most of the show walking us through an extensive look at Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, alongside The Division and Rainbow Six Siege.

It came as quite a surprise then to see their flagship franchise sitting on the sidelines for most of the conference, rearing its head for a brief albeit flashy cinematic trailer. Although series die-hards will have no doubt felt shortchanged, for the rest of us this marked an effective change in direction for Ubisoft. No matter what new date or setting, there are so many constants within the series that makes it harder to grow excited for as the years roll by.

Ubisoft has presumably sensed this for a while now, and though Assassin’s Creed still draws a huge number of punters with each annual release, it’s no longer a crutch the publisher can fall back on. It could be for this reason that they’ve handed the reigns over to Ubisoft Quebec for the first time, rather than keeping it at Ubisoft Montreal. Coincidentally, Ubisoft has been testing the water with new IP while also keeping a number of well-established gaming icons on the backburner.

The Tom Clancy brand was out in full force at this year’s E3 with not two, but three, major new instalments on the way. First up we got to see more from The Division as it continues to tread further into MMO territory. Aside from teaming up with friends to take on wandering bands of NPCs, they will also be able to explore the Dark Zone – the equivalent to no man’s land. Although Ubisoft’s multiplayer demo followed a pre-made script, it was still effective in showing us just how many scenarios can crop up on-the-fly, with the tension of a possible betrayal always a possibility.

Another Tom Clancy title we’ve been privy too for a while now is Rainbow Six Siege. Again, multiplayer is the core focus, but it was reassuring to see that Siege will also come tagged with solo and co-op content. Even without this safety blanket, there’s plenty here to get excited about thanks to the game’s meticulous focus on tactical teamwork. Whether facing off against other players online or returning to the much-loved Terrorist Hunt, Siege looks to have all bases covered.

Finally, we had Ghost Recon Wildlands. Straight away, I caught a Metal Gear Solid V vibe from this reveal, taking the best elements from the series’ previous instalments and spraying them onto an open-world canvas. There was also a notable shift away from futuristic military operations, as Wildlands focusing more on nitty gritty shootouts between special forces and a ruthless crime gang at the centre of the drugs trade. Without seeing an extensive walkthrough we don’t know how the individual elements of the game stack up, but various styles of play were showcased, presenting an exciting range of possibilities for tackling the same objective in different ways.

Another unexpected announcement was that of South Park: The Fractured But Whole, a follow-up to last year’s popular RPG, albeit with a shift to a superhero theme. Of course, little hold a candle to the sheer lunacy that was Trials Fusion Awesome Level Max, but we also had more predictable sequels for the Just Dance and Anno series.

The one game that really sealed it for me personally though was For Honor. With Ubisoft already working on so many titles, this robust medieval melee sim is like icing on the cake. Despite countless attempts to make visceral swordfighting gameplay work in an online environment, the results have never truly excelled. Chivalry gave it a good punt, as did War of the Roses, yet neither felt balanced or intuitive. Hopefully, with Ubisoft’s sheer manpower, the For Honor team will be able to nail down the perfect formula.

At the moment For Honor sports a melee system that allows players to seamlessly switch stance/direction while attacking, blocking, and parrying. It’s hard to judge how well it plays without actually having a controller in-hand, but so far it looks convincing.

Overall, Ubisoft stood tallest for me among the gathering of third party companies showing their wares at E3. With bets placed across the table, Ubisoft is juggling a catalogue of safe and risky titles. More than that, instead of just announcing said games, it has had the walkthroughs and live demonstrations to back them up.